A quick debrief about the kit of the ODIN I received 1 week ago. This is 100% designed and made in France by Rollin Composites who is also manufacturing the Graphen, a sport flying electro glider.
Here, as a reminder, are the characteristics of this competition glider.
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 300 cm
- Length: 142 cm
- Wing profile: JLF (proprietary)
- FAI area: 61.14 dm²
- Empty weight: 2.35 kg
- Max FAI weight: 4.585 kg
- Ballast: 1,840 g brass
- Nose length: 346 mm
- Root chord: 240 mm
Options: ballast kit, wing and stabilizer covers
Manufacturer's website: https://www.rollincomposites.com/
The glider arrived well-packaged and securely fastened in its cardboard box. I opted for the wing and stabilizer covers, made by Pull-Over. However, I didn't choose the bass ballast option, but I'll come back to that later.
Unboxing the kit, I must say I'm very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the molding and finish of the glider, which compares favorably with the top-of-the-line gliders on the market.
The wings are very nice, shiny, with a beautiful intensity of fluorescent paint. The stabilizers are of the same high quality.
My layup is 160g/dm² bi-axial carbon fiber. The wings feel very rigid, both to the touch and under flex. Inside each wing, there's a 25cm long, 14x14mm ballast compartment (Baudis-style) centered on the CG, plus compartments in the wing joiner for 10x10mm ballast. The downside is that if you don't already have tungsten in stock, it's going to get complicated because prices have skyrocketed to 250 Euros per kilo. With brass, you'll quickly need to use the ballast in the joiner, which will inevitably move the center of gravity forward, and by a significant amount. There's also the alternative of lead ballast, which I'm working on, so I'll talk about that later.
The fuselage is superb with the exposed carbon fiber, and very rigid. The rectangular stabilizer joiners inspire confidence. The front of the fuselage isn't cut out, which allows you to choose how you want to install it.
The stabilizers, also very beautiful, fit perfectly on the fuselage.
An accessory pouch is included with the kit. It contains twisted cable, green MPX connectors with small, very practical mounting plates, and servo covers.
In short, a beautiful piece of work. Well done, Loup Rollin, for the work done. I can't wait to fly it. But first, I have to assemble it.
Oh, before I go, here's the weight of the different components.
- Left and right tails: 42 gr each
- Joiner 96 gr
- Fuselage + nose cone 269 gr
- Right wing: 682 gr
- Left wing: 695 gr
The target is to have an empty flying weight around 2.4 kg
Stay tuned for the assembly !
